


More Than Delusions

by Dreamelilly018



Series: "Luz was 10 when she first met Edalyn Clawthorne" AU [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Adopted Children, Backstory, Bad Doctoring, Demon Realm (The Owl House), Eda Clawthorne Adopts Luz Noceda, F/F, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gen, Good Parent Eda Clawthorne, Good Parent Lilith Clawthorne, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Love Confessions, Lumity, Luz just wants her Mama, Luz just wants her tia, Luz's True Home, Mama Eda, Mama Edalyn Clawthorne, Mother Lilith, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Parent Eda Clawthorne, Protective Amity Blight, Protective Auntie, Protective Eda Clawthorne, Protective Lilith Clawthorne, Protective Mama, Protective Owlbert, Protective Tia, Protectiveness, Sad Luz Noceda, Same gender relationship, Sedation, Speciesism, The Boiling Isles (The Owl House), The Human Realm (The Owl House), Time Skips, blood doesn't make family, drugged, found famiy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28976559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamelilly018/pseuds/Dreamelilly018
Summary: After being unable to return to the Human Realm for four years, Luz is able to return at last. But, unlike she expected, the teenager finds herself in a worse situation than she ever thought.With her adopted family and girlfriend, will she able to get herself out of the equation and return back to her home?
Relationships: Amity Blight & Lilith Clawthorne, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & King, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, King & Luz Noceda, Lilith Clawthorne & Luz Noceda
Series: "Luz was 10 when she first met Edalyn Clawthorne" AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2125419
Comments: 26
Kudos: 128





	1. Chapter 1

"Mami! Mami!" Luz struggled against the weight of the hospital staff, tears falling down her cheeks. "Mami, please let me explain!"

Camilia Noceda, blinking her misty eyes, turned away from her daughter, forcing a tight smile, she tried to hide the pain in her features. Sending her to summer camp was never supposed to end like this. When she decided to send her daughter to the summer camp was supposed to help her recognized a line between reality and fantasy, and hopefully make a friend or two. It wasn't supposed because her to lose her grip of reality further or break her down to where she imagined people who ever attended camp.

"Mami! Mami!" Her daughter's desperate voice broke her heart. "Mami, please let me go!"

Settling painfully into a padded chair, the single mother grabbed one of her daughter's restrained hands. Gently, she gave it a squeeze. "Shh, Mija," she whispered, crooning softly as if was a baby again. "You must be tired after everything you went through. Just close your eyes and go to sleep, BeBe."

Voice cracking, she covered her mouth, tearing up. "It will be the best for you to go to sleep, BeBe," she suggested again.

"Mami, I thought you wanted me to make friends," Luz protested, flinching and feeling her chest tighten as the strips were locking her in place. "Willow, Gus, and Amity were the best thing for me. Please, let me go, Mami!"

"I am sorry, BeBe," she whispered as she sat up and left the room as the first sob broke through.

Struggling against the restraints, she dug her heels into the bed, frustrated. Why where they holding her back and upsetting her Mami for? Couldn't the women, dressed in blue, see how upsetting she was?

"Mami!" Her shouting grew desperate, pleading and scared. Even when facing off against Emperor Belos and helping to free her adopted mother, she had never felt this scared. Back then, she had King beside her. Now, in this strange place, she had no one. "Mami, please come back. For whatever I did, I'm sorry! Please come back, Mami!"

To the side of her, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a women, dressed head to toe in sterile blue clothing. Looking at the monitors and then glancing at her, she adjusted her goggles, making her like a large eyed demon. Pausing to jolt down a few notes onto a clipboard, she went over to a side monitor that held some numbers that Luz didn't understand.

"Miss Noceda?" The blue clothed women pulled up a chair to settle down beside her. Crossing one knee over another, she settled the clipboard down on her lap. "Can you look at me please?"

"Where is my Mama?" She craned her neck, eyes straining to pick up the familiar gray mane of her adopted mother. "Where is my Mama? Where is Eda? I want Mama!"

"Tell me who this Mama and Eda people are," she asked, tapping her pen against the clipboard. "Or tell me about any one of our friends, Ms. Noceda."

Mouth growing dry, the fourteen-year-old felt her blood run cold. Hearing that, she knew something was wrong. Her Mami or her co-workers never wanted to hear about her familiar, friends, or adventures on the Boiling Idles the past four years. Instead, they were met with hate and scorn with a shake of their heads.

Her Mami, who had always pressured her to fit in and make friends, now looked despaired and mournful when she ever brought them up. It was like she retreated letting her daughter ever make friends.

"I want my Mama," she croaked, eyes burning with unshed tears. "And my friends. T-t-they will know what to do. I want to return to the Boiling Isles."

The blue clad women gave a shake of her head. Getting up and walking across the room, she returned with a needle and a new vile of clear liquid. With a quick, fluid motion, the needle she had in her hand prior, was changed with the fresh one. "It's time to sleep," she said in a sickly sweet voice. "I am going to give you some medicine and once you wake up, you will feel all better, darling."

"N-n-no," she protested weakly. The fourteen-year-old didn't want to go to sleep. What she wanted was to return back to the Boiling Isles. She wanted to have a magic lessen with Eda, tend to plants with Willow, talk about human culture with Gus, and go on a date with her three yearlong girlfriend, Amity. She didn't belong in the Human Realm. Her family, friends, and life was in the Demon Realm.

"Mama," she began sluggishly. "Ma-" With one last whimper of protest, her eyes fluttered shut and her head fell back against the bed.


	2. Chapter Two

In the quiet of night, Edalyn and Lilith Clawthorne sat at the kitchen table with King seated in his high chair between them. They had just sat down to eat their late supper of stew and hash bread. Lilith had worked late at her office while Eda, no longer having Luz to assist her with deliveries, had to work overtime to deliver them. With both of them working overtime, King, for the first time by himself, had made dinner. While the Hash Bread was burnt heavily and the stew over salted, it was a first good attempt.

“It is so quiet,” Lilith commented as she pushed her half raw carrots around her bowl, grimacing as she took a bite of the bread. “If Luz was here, she would be bouncing around the dining area, talking about the most recent trip she did with Amity or boasting about her progress with her schooling.”

“I was half expecting to have her tumbling down the stairs when I was warming up my Apple Blood this morning,” Eda agreed with a nod, forcing down another spoonful of stew. “It feels very weird not to have her bouncing behind me or waiting to start bothering me until I had my drink in the morning.”

“Do you think we will hear from her soon?” King questioned, grimacing at the taste of his soup. “She has been in the Human Realm for almost three months now. You would think she would lay out a letter for Owlbert to retrieve or something to inform us she was doing well.”

“Now that you mention it,” Lilith said, setting her spoon back into her cooling bowl. “Luz did seem a bit apprehensive of returning to the Human Realm after disappearing for four years with no formal excuse or good reasoning.”

“We still hav the portal,” King pointed out, gesturing to where the Eye Key rested on the hook in the middle of the kitchen. “The next time you can get off of work for a few days, we should go and visit her. Visiting her and spending a few hours with her, wouldn’t cause any harm. We can see how she is adapting to living back in the Human Realm again.

“If I remember correctly, I will have next Thursday to Monday off,” Lilith said, taking a moment to recall exactly. “It’s a mandatory vacation for all Coven Leaders so we don’t have breakdowns or something like that. So we can go than to check up on Luz and make sure she is adapting well.”

"We can finally introduce ourselves to her Mother," Eda said bitterly, swallowing a mouthful of Pumpkin Seed. Ever since learning why her child's biological mother was trying to send her to the summer camp, she held her in a negative light. While Luz, in her younger years, was a bit compulsive, all she needed was someone to meet at her level and guide her when she needed it. What she didn't need was someone to try to strip her very personality away and made her a canvas for someone to mold to what society saw as useful. "I have some bones that I want to pick with her."

“Edalyn,” Lilith began.

“Don’t start Miss Prissy,” the twenty-one year old began.

“Don’t pick all her bones,” Lilith went on. “As being one of her mentors, Luz is nothing like what her mother, Camilia, described her as. I will be right there with you.”

***

Amity, finishing her training for the day, entered the locker room, stepping into the shower, planning to clean quickly. Once she was dressed and packed everything up, the seventeen-year-old had one place in mind. She had to go to The Owl House. A desperate, pleading feeling pushed her to go the backway.

If she took the main her entrance her Mother or Father would be there to collect her. But if she took the backway, she could take the long way through the woods. Once in the countryside, she could go back onto the main roads. The journey to the countryside only took a brief five minute walk that left her panting and sweaty. Normally, she’d take her time or just go home to steal one of her older sibling’s staff but today, it felt too important, too worrying to wait.

Arriving at the Owl Hous, she threw the door open, ignoring the routine greeting from Hooty. Instead, she slammed the door shut and stalked into the living room. With the crystal ball on, Lilith rested in a recliner, a few files open on her lap. Eda lay curled up on the couch, flipping through a book that contained a list of new customers and orders. At her feet, King lay curled up in Luz’s old blue and white cat hoodie. He watched the Crystal Ball, one of Luz’s Human Realm recording playing.

Entering the living room, she cleared her throat. “We need to talk,” she said, voice wavering. “Before she left, we did the Eternal Oath Bond. Doing this made us connected over the realms. A-and when she is distressed and she feels like her life is in danger, she sends some sign.”

“You got a sign?” Lilith closed the recliner, sitting up and placing her files to the side. “You think that Luz is in danger, Dearest?”

“Not think,” Amity said, looking at her former mentor, confident. “I know. There is something wrong with Luz, and she is unable to contact us like she wants. Luz is in some kind of danger, and she needs us to help her.”

With one shared look between them, Lilith and Eda sprang to her feet. Crying out, “Sapphire!” and “Owlbert!” their staffs flew into their opened hands. “Let’s go and get our Luz back,” Lilith said confidently. “It is time to bring back to where she belongs.”

“Let’s,” Eda agreed, going to retrieve the Eye Key from where it hung. Opening the portal and picking up King, Eda entered first with Amity and Lilith behind her.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: There will be homophobic language and homophobia from a character in this chapter.

_“Oh, dear child.” The woman glanced down with a shake of her head, grabbing onto the scarf around her hair. “I’m nothing like you. With the scarf flying into the air and one hand on her hip, the gray haired woman announced, “I’m Eda, the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!”_

_“A…” The child was speechless, eyes lighting up. “A real witch?”_

_“I am a respected, feared-“ the woman began but got caught off as debris from her merchandise flew through the air._

_“Busted,” a guard growled, seizing the child by the hood of her sweatshirt. “And you are too!:_

_“Wai-“ She protested, crying in shock as she was lifted into the air and placed onto a staff. Clutching onto the woman’s waist and squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed she didn’t fall._

***Flash***

_Breathless, the ten-year-old stared out at the expanse. The bright orange and red houses danced around her, pushing away the adventures from earlier in the day. “Whoa,” she whispered softly. “It’s so beautiful.”_

_“The bones of the Isles,” the woman, her mentor, said as she wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “Up close, the isles can be slimy-“_

_“And very stinky,” the third passenger, a black scruffy canine creature piped in._

_“And gross,” the gray haired woman continued. “But if you look at it from a different perspective..”_

_“It’s breathtaking,” the preteen answered._

_“Yeah,” the canine creature agreed._

_The woman’s apprentice glanced up at her. “Eda, how did you know that wizard was lying?”_

_Casting a glance at the child, the woman paused. “Look, kid, everyone wants to believe they’re “chosen”. But if we all waited around for a prophecy to make us special,” she explained gently. “We’d die waiting. And that’s why you need to choose yourself.”_

_“Does that mean you will give me a magical staff of my own?” she asked, hope shining in her hazel-brown eyes._

_“Not yet,” the woman, Eda, hummed. “But…someday.”_

***Flash***

“ _Oh, no, no, no, no!” The girl, panicked, took a calming breath, allowing the plan to drop the younger child. Rushing over to her, she held her hand out. “I’m so sorry!”_

_“It’s okay.” Getting to her feet and tying the bandage, makeshift and useless, tighter around her calf, the younger child brushed the dirt clinging to her dirty clothes. “The thorns couldn’t have done more harm than other things I have faced.”_

_“So…” The teenager’s green eyes focused on the preteen’s ears that were now exposed. “Circly.”_

_Letting out a squeal, she yanked her hood up, trembling when she realized she broke one of her mentor’s orders. She had told her apprentice not to allow anyone to know she was human. “I-It’s just cosplay,” she shouted._

_The girl’s face lit up, gasping. “You’re human! This is astounding!” She began to walk around the child. “A human on the Boiling Isles! How’d you get here? What are you doing here?”_

_Before the Latina could respond, the distant screeching of demonic bells were heard._

_“Uh, I’m sorry but I can’t stay,” the older girl said, disappointing filling her gaze. “I have to go disappoint my teacher. It was nice to meet you, human.”_

_“Wait! I’m Luz,” she said, grabbing her hand. “And you’re Willow, right?”_

_“Yes,” she said, turning to push the cauldron away. “It was nice meeting you, Luz."_

***

_“Augustus.” Willow made sure the area was clear before moving the head lid to the side to allow Luz to pop out. “I’m gonna tell you something but you have to be cool.”_

_“I can be cool,” the younger witch promised._

_“Okay..” Stomach growing heavy, Willow commanded, “Abomination, Rise!”_

_With a low wiggle, Luz managed to pull herself up to the edge of the pot, standing on the very tip of her toes. “Ta-da!” Throwing one hand up in the air, she gave a toothy smile. “I’m an abomination.”_

_“Luz,” the eldest teen hissed, green eyes scanning their little corner for incoming staff or students. “That’s not how abominations act.”_

_Between them, the younger witch, speechless and eyes wide, whispered. “No. No, it couldn’t be.”_

_“He’s the president of the Human Appreciation Society,” Willow supplied once she saw how confused Luz looked. “Most witches couldn’t be able to recognize a human right away. But August is an expert.”_

_“Where are your gills?” Augustus said after a moment after moving closer. “How can you breathe?”_

_‘I knew an Augustus back in the human world,” Luz began, trying to change the topic. “We-well their friends-called them Gus.”_

_“Gus,” squealed the eldest preteen. “Nickname. Human nickname? Call me, Gus. This is the best day of my life. Thank you, Luz!”_

***

_Luz trembled on the cold, metal table. Hazel-brown eyes staring ahead, she felt Willow stop to the side of her, holding a glistening knife. Panic and terror coursing through her veins, the ten-year-old choked back a whimper, hands falling up into fists._

_‘Mami,’ she pleaded silently, fighting to flinch at the harsh gaze of an older girl, named Amity Blight, as she stood at the end of the table. “Please, help me, Mami.’_

_“Well, do it, Willow,” ordered Amity, voice cold and unforgiving. “If you finally did such a good job with making an Abomination, you should reveal how you did it. Cut it open and show us.”_

_“Run, Luz!” Willow shoved the school’s principal and cut the straps’ off, pushing her towards the girl. “Gus and I will be right behind you!”_

_“No, you don’t!” Amity went to grab her but she was already gone, running out of the classroom, tears falling down her face._

***Flash***

_“Wait!” Holding the phone between King and her, Luz strained to pick up the image from before. Watching Eda go through the smell circle again, her jaw fell, shocked. “There is a pattern in the spell circle.”_

_“What?” King, the canine like creature, leaped up, pressing his front legs against her knee, staring at the dim screen. “Where?”_

_“It looks like this,” she explained, taking a leaf from King and placing it on her screen. Turning the brightness up and digging a pencil out from her pocket, she began to trace the glyph. Once completed, she sat the pencil down. From what she could make it, it resembled a bird with large triangle and a line being in the middle._

_“Do something else,” King said, hearing the growling of the approaching Owl Beast. “We can’t just use that!”_

_“There.” Tapping it like it was part of her phone, she watched, breathless, as the leaf disappeared and a ball of light floated up towards her face. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, eyes widening. “Oh, my gosh. I just did magic. I just did magic! I just did magic, King!”_

***Flash***

_Lilith Clawthorne, Edalyn’s older sister, sniffled, rolling her eyes dismissively. “Please,” she said softly. “You are a wanted criminal, Edalyn. Unless…” Hope filled her gaze. “I don’t believe it! You are here to join the Emperor’s Coven!”_

_Snorting, Eda gave a shake of her head. “In your dream, Lily,” she laughed._

_“You think being covenless makes you so much smarter than everyone else,” Lilith growled, fingers digging into the soft wood of her staff. “But while you run from the law like a degenerate, I’m mentoring the next generation of powerful witch students into the world.”_

_“I have someone that is under my care,” Eda said, careful not to mention it was her apprentice. That could easily bring harm or attention into the hyperactive and excitable child in her care. It was one thing to say she was her ward but another to claim her as her apprentice. “And I bet she could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little blue bloods.”_

_“Is that a challenge?” her older sister spat._

_The Owl Lady smirked “Oh, it’s a promise!”_

_“Than-“ Lilith began._

_Luz’s voice, panicked and shaking, broke their conversation. “Mammam, I need your ayuda! I accidently challenged Amity to a witch’s duelo, and I think she’s going to kill me all the way mureto!” Crashing into Eda and gripping onto her mentor’s waist, she burst into tears, shaking._

_Crouching down to comfort her apprentice and realizing her mistake, Eda raised her gaze to meet Lilith’s shock expression. Blue eyes glancing between Luz and Eda, she scowled. “Y-you have a child,” she hissed, blue sparks flashing from her staff. “While on the run, you lowered yourself to have an exotic pet with a human, and still refuse to join a coven, Edalyn! You are putting your daughter, my niece, into danger. How selfish can you be? Can’t you put someone else’s wellbeing before your wants for once?”_

_“Lo siento! Lo siento,” Luz babbled, realizing her mistake._

_“It’s not your fault, kid,” Eda reassured her, stepping in between her apprentice and her older sister. “And now if you excuse me, I have to console my “daughter”,” she hissed, narrowing her gaze. “Before she has a panic attack.”_

_Drawing Luz close and leading her away, she settled in a corner. “its okay, Luz,” she reassured the sniffling child. “I should have paid more attention when teaching you the words when addressing people. Now, we have to prepare for the challenge.”_

_“B-b-but I do-“ she squeaked, body trembling._

_“Leave it to me,” she said, eyes glowing amber. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”_

***

_Holding her throbbing arm and sniffling through the bloodied tissue, Luz approached where Amity, curled up and sobbing, sat in the shadows. Remembering the free offering, a rarity of the Demon Realm, a chocolate bar, she held it out. “Esurientes,” she inquired, stopping a few footsteps away from her. Flinching, she used her throbbing arm to press the tissue harder against her bleeding nose. “I got it from where,” she said, hoping she knew Humaneese. “Volo? Non, yes?”_

_Glaring coldly at her, Amity shoved her away, causing her to stumble backwards. “Leave me alone,” she snapped, heavily accented. “Go away!”_

_Relief washing over her, she continued. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”_

_“That’s all you ever do,” Amit mumbled sullenly, hiding her face in her arms. “First at the school, and now this!”_

_“You made me look like a fool in front of the Emperor’s Coven. My Future!” she hissed, tears stinging her eyes. “You think it is so easy to be a witch. I have been working my whole life to get to the top! You lost. Say it!” Walking towards her, Amity trapped her in one of the corners. “Say you’re not a witch!”_

_Down casted, Luz mumbled, “I’m not a witch, and know I will never be one. B-b-but I am training hard to learn to be one.” Slipping the chocolate bar into her bag, she pulled out a piece of paper, drawing a light glyph. Hitting it and letting it float above her, she offered it to Amity._

_“That’s nothing,” scoffed Amity, not looking impressed. “A child could do a light spell. But...” She looked interested briefly. “I’ve never seen it cast like that.”_

_“It doesn’t come naturally to me like it does for you,” Luz explained, smiling softly. “So I have to improvise and learn a different way.”_

***Flash***

_Once checking on her apprentice and seeing her asleep, Eda settled onto the edge of her bed, running her fingers through her long, dark brown hair. Arriving back at the house and finding it only her kid and her two friends, she had been surprised. Even doing the simple task of reviving a small object was hard enough but an entire house was almost impossible. It took all players to be of equal power, strength, and level._

_“You certainly have surprised me so far, kid,” she said affectionately, tucking the quilt tighter around her shoulders. “I guess, I was mistaken by just how much potential and power you have for going far in the future. Maybe, one day in the far future, you will be even more powerful than me and be known as the most powerful witch on the isles.”_

_Seeing at the slumbering from of her apprentice, The Owl Lady could picture it now. Once she received her staff and finished her training, Luz could help teach the next generations of witches and wizards that joining covens wasn’t the only choice and they didn’t have to limit their magic and training to one track. Long after she was gone and Luz was fully grown, bringing balance and possibly a bridge between the Human and Demon Realm, doing what she was best at. Being her quirky self and lighting a fire in everyone she met._

_“You are going to go far, kid,” she said, getting up, pausing to tucking in her arm and place her phone onto the last portable charger that still held a charge. Going to the entrance of the bedroom, she glanced back at her, smiling softly. “Good night, Luz. Sleep well.”_

_“Good night, Oraculi,” breathed her apprentice as she door was closed, leaving her in a blanket of darkness._

***Flash***

“ _Give it back!” Jumping up and down, Luz tried to grab the book that Amity’s older brother, Edric, held above his head. “It’s not yours!”_

_“This is it,” Edric said, pushing her to the floor and turning to his twin sisters. “We finally found it._

_“Luz..” Hurt flashed over Emira’s eyes as she turned to look at the sniffling, preteen. “Were you hiding this from us? How could you?”_

_“I know Amity can be kind of cold but no one deserves this,” the ten-year-old explained, rubbing her casted arm with a pained expression before getting to her feet. “What she has written are private thoughts. Let’s put it back, now give it to me.” Approaching her and managing to grab a red ribbon from the binding. “If we put it back, we can pretend we never found this.”_

_Pulling on it, Edric glared. While Edric was trying to loosen Luz’s grip, his twin sister began to pull Luz away, not wanting to face the child’s mentor if she arrived home hurt._

_“She needs this,” the older Blight sibling snarled, eyes narrowed._

_“No!” Squirming, Luz managed to loosen Emira’s hold on her waist. “It’s wrong!”_

_“It’s for her own good,” Emira snapped, trying out in shock as she was elbowed in her side._

_“No, it’s not!” Landing on the floor of the library with a pained expression, her hazel-brown eyes widened in horror as the diary’s binding was ripped, and allowing papers to fall out. “No!” Ignoring the pain radiating through her broken arm, she began to gather up the papers, trying to ignore what was being read._

**_“I wish I had somewhere to go.”_ **

**_“Why won’t the human leave me alone?”_ **

**_“Called my teacher mom again.”_ **

**_“Sorry, I haven’t written for a while.”_ **

**_“Wait, why am I apologizing?”_ **

_“Really?!” Amity’s voice cut through Luz’s desperate scramble to grab her diary entries as Emira and Edric loomed over her._

_“Wait!” She stood on her knees, good hand clutching the diary and entries closed. “It’s not what it looks like.”_

_Behind her, much to her annoyance, the older Blight siblings snickered._

_“You two are the worst.” Amity glared, taking a step forward. “But you.. I’ve been trying to figure out what your deal is.” She snatched the things from her, drawing tears from Luz’s eyes. “Are, are you a poser? A nerd? I know. You’re a bully, Luz Noceda.”_

_“A-A-Amity,” she sniffled, voice caught in her throat and tears slipping down her face. “Wait!” Scrambling to her feet, she reached for her, missing her by seconds as she took off._

_“Mittens killed the fun,” Emira groaned. “Buzzkill.”_

_“Oh, well.” Edric shrugged, looking board as he glanced at Luz, not commenting on her state. “We’re headed out to go goblin-tipping. Wanna come? "_

_“Wait?” Blinking her watery eyes, Luz approached them, cautious. “You are just gonna leave?_

_“Yeah.” Emira didn’t seem a bit concerned or worried for the state of their little sister. “With you of course.”_

_“Look..” Luz swallowed, nervous. During her entire time in the Human Realm, she had always hoped that someone would want to spend time with her like this. But after gaining a better understanding of social cues and how friendship, or any kind of relationship works, she knew better. So, with much shock and maturity for her age, she goes on. “Look, you guys are cool. Abut I need to go talk to Mittens.” She winces at her mistake. “I mean, Amity.”_

_“All right.” Pausing and holding her chin, Emira smirked, seeing the faint blush that came across the preteen’s face. “See you around, cutie.”_

_“B-Bye,” she stammered, watching them leave before racing to find Amity. “Amity, wait!”_

_“First you embarrass me,” she said slowly. “Then you wanna be my friend? I don’t get you. Pick a side.”_

_“Please,” she pleaded softly. “Just listen to me.”_

_“Just go away,” she hissed, ears flattening. “Before things somehow get worse.”_

_***_

_Supporting the weight of the exhausted child and limping out of the library, the two children stepped out into the first milky ways of dawn. Seeing the sunrise, Luz perked up faintly, wincing at the pain lacing through her body._

_“What an adventure,” she said sleepily, glancing at Amity who looked moments away from dropping to the ground to sleep. “Thank you for helping to clean up.”_

_Making sure she was strong enough to keep standing, the fourteen-year-old pulled away, moving towards the path leading to her family’s manor. “This never happened,” she said, monotone._

_“Wait!” Using her good arm, Luz reached into her messenger bag. Pulling out the next book in the Good Witch Azura book, she held it out. “It doesn’t make up for reading your diary but would you wanna borrow this? I noticed you only had up to the fourth book.”_

_Pushing a strand of her green hair behind her ear, Amity walked back, taking the book. Glancing down at it, she smiled softly. “Thank you,” she sighed, golden eyes looking at Luz. ‘Maybe you aren’t a bully. I haven’t exactly been the friendliest witch either. I will think on that,” she promised as she turned and left, leaving Luz to walk back to her mentor’s house._

***Flash***

_“I washed off all the graffiti. Apologized to Jeninmeyer for stealing her teeth. Caught all the wild cerebi,” Eda grumbled, ignoring the aches and pains that settled onto her. “With all that, I am assuming we should be good.”_

_“It will very exciting to have a real human exchange student,” Hexide’s principal, Mr. Charles Bump, agreed with a nod._

_‘And you won’t tell the Emperor’s Coven about this?” Eda pressed, suddenly defensive. “Will you? I don’t care what happens to me but Luz musn’t be caught in the cross fire or be put in danger. She is a child and must be protected.”_

_“No. Hexide School is safe for you both,” Principal Charles Bump promised. “I’m the principal, not a stooge. Consider your pupil our pupil.”_

_Turning a corner Eda stopped. There as a bang as one of Luz’s friends, Gus, burst out. “Hurry, Luz,” he shouted, casting a spell to hold off their attacker. “I can’t hold this thing off much longer!”_

_“He’s heavy,” she gasped, stumbling out and pulling another, a teen almost twice her size, behind her. With all three of them out of the way, all three of them collapsed. “Eda?” Luz eyes widened as she saw her mentor. “What are you doing here?”_

_Pulling her close and wrapping her bony arm surround her shoulders, she smiled. “Guess who got you into Hexide?” she boasted, hiding the third person with a flick of her hand. “You can start learning to be a proper witch.”_

_“W-w-what?” Stars filled Luz’s gaze as there was a hiss behind them. Horror and fear washing through Luz, she screamed as a large, snake prepared to launch at her. “Eda!”_

_“Get behind me, kid.” Preparing to draw a circle, the girl’s mentor stepped in front of her. “Stay out of the way.”_

_“Hmm.” With a snap, the creature stopped, glancing at Principal Bump._

_“Sorry, Principal Bump, Sir,” apologized the snake._

_Principal Bump approached Luz, ignoring the pure trepidation on her face and shaking frame. “What did you do?” he demanded, in a cold, low voice to Luz._

_“Kid,” Eda began, stopping when she noticed her heartbroken and guilty expression._

_“To think that any student of yours would be capable of doing anything but create chaos...” Turning his gaze to the girl’s mentor, he ordered, “Eda, take your student and leave. It was foolish to believe that a human could be anything more than an exotic pet.”_

_Luz, shifting away from Eda, wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. Squeezing her eyes shut, the soon to be eleven-year-old tried to push the hopelessness and despair away as it threaten to overtake her. After ten years of being told she was a freak of nature, a spawn of Satan, and nothing but a pest, she had thought she had found her place in the Demon realm. But now, after two weeks of being Eda’s apprentice, she realized who she truly was. Like many others, Principal Bump, was correct. There was no way, she, a human, could be considered nothing more than a pet. It was a fluke of her learning her first spell. It was a fluke for her to think she was an equal to the witches. “I-I-I-I’m sorry,” she sniffled, heartbroken. “I will leave and never bother you again.”_

_“For once you speak of truth,” Principal Bump agreed. “Leave you two. You are both banned from this campus!”_

_Fury filling her, Eda turned to her apprentice, ruffling her hair. “Come one, kid,” she said, glaring at Principal Bump. “Let’s go. They don’t see how powerful you will be. One day, they will regret not allowing you to attend here.”_

***

_Standing in front of her apprentice, Eda brushed the tears away. “Hey now,” she whispered, still refusing to meet Principal Bump’s face. “You have no reason to be crying now. You can attend Hexide.”_

_“B-b-but he’s right,” she said, hazel-brown eyes water. “I’m not meant to be a witch rather just a pet.”_

_“They are wrong,” Gus butted in, approaching them. “My father told me that it takes great power to even get something to come alive. For us to revive The Owl House and control it, he says that we must have a powerful future ahead of us.”_

_“Like he said, I did all this work because I have faith in you,” Eda explained, crouching down in front of her. “And I know you are too smart to fall for that One-Witch, One-Coven nonsense. You are too smart to let others label to what you truly can do.” Pulling her close and rubbing her back, The Owl Lady continued. “You can learn a lot from the witches here. And maybe teach them some of that Bad Girl Coven magic too.”_

_Still sniffling, Luz nodded._

_“Good girl,” Eda praised, ruffling her hair. “I know you will go far kid. And because of that, there is much more that you need to learn that I am unable to teach you.”_

***Flash***

_Luz let out a scream. Dropping to the ground and covering her head, she sobbed, frightened by the approaching figure of the Bat Queen. “Mamai,” she wailed, tears slipping down her face. “Mami, help me!’_

_Behind her, Owlbert, her mentor’s staff, flew in front of her, refusing to let the Bat Queen near her. The human apprentice had proven and more just how much she cared for him. It was time for the fight to be dome._

_“Very well,” the Bat Queen caved. “You have proven your loyalty, love, and relationship with this Palsamon.”_

***Flash***

_“Amity?” A cold voice cut through the argument._

_Amity, flinching, takes a step back, stopping until she stood side by side with Luz. She had ever wanted anyone to learn what she was forced to do that day._

_“What is Willow doing here?” her mother demanded. “She wasn’t on the guest list for a reason.”_

_“But, she’s...” Her younger self sounded confused and frightened. “She’s my best friend.”_

_“Nonsense,” her father scoffed. “Blights only associate with the strongest of witchlings. You can choose a new friend from one of the suitable companions we invited.”_

_“But they’re mean,” young Amity protested hotly. “Just because you work with their parents doesn’t mean I have to like them!”_

_“Good children don’t squabble, dear,” responded her mother, prim and proper. “Sever your ties with Willow, and if you don’t-“_

_“Then we will,” surmised her father._

_Flinching, she gasped._

_“We will make sure the kid is never admitted into Hexide,” her mother threatened. “Now go, ad try not to make a scene.”_

***Flash***

_“Let’s finish this!” Luz clutched onto the glyphs, standing tall. “Human-style!”_

_The Grom, a black creature, rose up behind her, towering over her. Turning around, Luz began to back up, hazel-brown eyes widening as an illusion of her mentor’s cursed form crept towards her, eyes glowing. Once it was close, the creature leapt, trapping the human in a paralysis. Giving her enough time to escape, Luz scrambled backwards as a portal to the Human Realm opened, causing her to tremble, worried of what would be coming through._

_Creaking, the door swung open. Partly hidden by the light, someone stepped out._

_“Mija?” came the confused voice of her mother sounded._

_Gulping, Luz paled, astonished. “Mom,” she forced out, voice trembling. “What are you doing here?”_

_“Luz, what is this terrible place?” her mother glanced around the school, horrified. “Espérate un momento, this isn’t camp. Have you been here, all these weeks?” Her brown eyes went wider. “And is that a weapon?”_

_Dropping the ball and chain, the eleven-year-old backed up, realizing her mistake. Her Mami, the person who was her only support, stared at her with disappointment and anger. “I can explain,” she shouted quickly. “Please don’t be mad, Mama! P-p-please don’t be disappointed in me.”_

_Taking a step back and desperate to calm her mother, Luz felt frozen, taking in the black figure transforming with her Mother still looming over her._

_“Mija,” her mother crooned. “Have you been lying to me? Do you need to be punished?”_

_“I can’t do this!” Luz spun around and ran away, leaving behind a worried Amity and a pist Eda. Her mentor knew that something was off between the relationship of her apprentice and her biological mother, and now seeing her terror and her fleeing just confirmed her fears. “I can’t face my fear. I can’t face, Mami.”_

_“Why are you running, Luz?” the Grom taunted. “Do you really want to worsen your punishment?”_

***

_“May I have this dance?” Amity held her hand out to Luz, smiling. “I won’t let your mother hurt or punish you, Luz.”_

_Taking her hand, Luz spun around, gripping tightly onto Amity as the shone above them. Dipping down and pulling out a glyph from her pocket as Amity dragged her foot in the ground, making a giant abomination rose below their feet._

_“Lower,” she said, holding tightly onto as she slapped the plant onto the Abomination. With her being raised and Amity pushing them off of the Abomination, the creature leaped forward, diving into its mouth. With a burst of light, vines and branches began to sprout, sending an explosion of goo and colors into the air as they stopped in place, a tiara floating onto their heads. “We did it, Atty!” Throwing her arms around her friend, the elven-year-old smiled brightly. “We beat Grom!”_

_“Atty?” asked the fourteen-year-old. “If you call me Atty, I can call you “Mea.”?”_

_“Of course,” Luz said as they stood side by side as the crowd began to catch up to them. “You can call me “Mea.”_

***Flash***

_“Amity!” Luz ran over to her friend, stopping in front of her._

_“Oh, Luz,” Amity smiled, adjusting her hold onto her school books. “You’re here! I mean obviously, you’re here, this is school, and you go here now, with, uhh me…” Blushing, she stammered. “I’ve been talking for too long.”_

_Luz bounced up and down, staying in front of her. “Amity,” she said. “We need your help.”_

_“Yes! I can help…!” She paused, realizing her mistake. “With what, exactly?”_

_“Boscha won’t stop picking on Willow, and no one will do anything about it,” Luz rambled, placing her hands onto her knees. “They say it’s because Boscha is the “Star Captain of the Grudgby Team.”_

_“Yeah,” she sighed. “This time of year, she is extra unbearable.”_

_“You are friends with her,” Luz went on, starting to calm down. “Can you help us?”_

_“Uh, the hard part is, there is no reasoning with Boscha,” Amity admitted. “She only speaks in grudgby terms.”_

_“Hmmm. Okay, okay.” She began to bounce again when she realized something that went over Amity’s head. “I am picking up what you’re putting down.”_

_Amity cocked her head to the side. “I’m…not putting anything down.”_

***

_“Tough practice?” Amity settled down beside Luz._

_“I pushed Willow and Gus too hard,” the eleven-year-old sighed. “It’s just, I hate seeing Willow get picked on. She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. Winning this game is the only way I know how to help.”_

_“Did you know, before Boscha, I was the grudgby team captain?” questioned Amity, glancing at her._

_Surprised, the human student blinked. “Really?”_

_“Well, once I left the team,” she explained. “I decided that was a part of my life I wanted to forget. We were playing Glandus High for the Island Championship. We had a move planned, and it was a good one. But, at the last minute, I decided I wanted to do something a bit flashier. I changed our game plan to.. the Thorn Vault.”_

_It took a moment for it to click. “Good Witch Azura 2: Field of Deadly Fates!” Her mouth grew wide in understanding. “You watched it too?”_

_“Uh, yeah.” Amity gave her a simple eye roll, judging her playfully in the side. “It went disastrously wrong. My teammate got hurt. All because I had the idea of how things should be. I pushed them too far. I never played again after that day.” Turning around, she flinched, falling backwards when she face face to face with the younger girl._

_“Ah, sorry!” Helping her friend up, she gave a sheepish smile. ”I really love backstories.”_

_“I know what to do to make up to Willow,” she said, placing an object into Amity’s hand. “Thanks, Atty.”_

***

_Amity burst into the room. “Luz needs our help! I know she pushed you guys, and she always gets in over your head. She can be so stupid, which I love-I mean hate! In any case,s he needs you right now, which is sweet- I mean, I hate it, and it’s dumb!”_

_From where he sat, Gus said, “You lost me.”_

_“Just!” Amity pulled out the object Luz gave her earlier. “Here,” the fourteen-year-old said, shoved the clip into Willow’s hands._

*******

“ _Amity!”_

_“Atty!”_

_Luz ran over to where Amity sat. “Are you okay?”_

_“I think-I think I hurt my leg,” she confessed, looking worried. “But, I will be okay.”_

_“Are you sure?” She stands up, looking determined. “I could help carry you if it really hurts.”_

_“I-I-I’m fine,” she stammered, nervous. “Who’s Amity?”_

_“Aaaannd, scoop!” With the adrenaline coursing through her, Luz had no struggle to lifting her older friend._

_“Oh, wow,” she said, chuckling nervously. “Sports...”_

***Flash***

“ _Eda, stop!” Luz strained against the hold that the magic had on her. “You will run out of magic!”_

_“It’s my power, kid,” her mentor figure said with a groan, refusing to let her be injured. “And before you showed up, I spent my whole life wasting it.”_

_From above, Lilith pushed down harder._

_“Eda, no, no, no!” Luz’s face grew ashen and pale, voice desperate._

_“Alright, kid, listen to me. I am going, and I don’t know if I can bounce back this time.” Panting, Eda closed her eyes, body trembling. “Watch over King, remember to feed Hooty.”_

_“Please...” Luz gave her a pleading look. “No!”_

_“And Luz, thank you for being in my life.” With one last look of affection and care, she collapsed onto the ground. Owlbert, flying away from Eda, seized ahold of the hood of Luz’s school uniform. Landing on the bridge, Luz stumbled over to Eda, barely missing the swiping of claws._

_“Come along, sister.” Lilith wrapped magical ropes around Eda’s Beast form, dragging her away. “Now we can let the healing begin.”_

_“You monster!” Abandoning where Eda rested, Luz sprang at Lilith, preparing to claw her._

_“Leave, human!” Lilith spat as they began to pull away from Luz. “Edalyn is finally with her family. Her real family. Go back to your world, this one’s ours."_

***

_“Eda, wait!” Luz held the light above her, cowering away. “It’s me! It’s me.”_

_The Owl Beast blinked its black eyes, revealing her familiar gold irises. “Luz?” she gasped. “Oh no, oh no no no no no no, wh-. What are you doing here?”_

_“It’s okay, Eda,” she reassured her friend. “I’m here to save you.” Sitting down, she presses the fire glyph against the chains but nothing happened._

_“Your magic isn’t strong enough for this.” She gently pushed her away. “You need to leave. Now!”_

_“But, I can’t!” Tears slipped down her face as she shook her head. “It’s my fault you needed to save me. It’s my fault you got captured.”_

_“No, listen to me,” Eda said, comforting her. “I am here because of my own actions. I went against Belos’s law, and for a while I was able to get away with it. But, without magic, I can’t do much. I don’t regret anything. I lived freely and … I got to meet you.”_

_“Eda,” she whined._

_“But if you stay here, I won’t be able to protect you,” Eda added. “You need to leave. Now!”_

_“But we’re family!” protested Luz weakly. “Us weirdos have to stick together, remember?”_

_Raising a claw into her hair, she pulled out the key for the portal to the Human Realm. Activating it, she held it out to Luz._

_“You have a family already. Go back to them. And when you’re home, use your fire magic to destroy the portal door,” she said, placing the key around her apprentice’s neck. “I don’t know why Belos wants it, but we can’t take any chances.”_

_Glancing at Eda, Luz felt the burning of incoming tears. Placing the key under her cloak, the eleven-year-old threw her arms around her mentor. “I love you, Eda,” she cried._

_“I love you too, kiddo,” Eda said, sighing mournfully. “And know that nothing will change that.”_

***

_“No!” Clutching onto the clasp of her cloak, she fought back a sob. “Fine,” she snarled, reaching under her cloak and hitting the eye button. Mournfully, she activated the portal, keeping the key out of sight of Belos. Stepping forward, she held the door to her chest. “Lo siento, Mama,” she whispered, grabbing her mentor’s staff rom where it had been thrown. Walking reluctantly over to Belos, she handed him the door. “Here, its yours.”_

_“The Titan will be pleased,” Emperor Belos agreed._

_Lingering a few seconds, Luz looked at the suitcase before stepping onto the platform that Lilith had brought her down earlier. Pulling her hood up, she stood tall._

_“Go on then.” Tapping his staff to the ground, he watched as Luz began to leave. “Go be a hero.”_

_“I may have lost, but so have you,” she snarled, turning Eda’s staff around and slamming it into the platform. With Owlbert’s eyes glowing, the portal exploded as Luz left form sight._

***Flash**

_Arriving back at The Owl House., Luz found herself unable to sleep. Long past the time that Eda and King were asleep, she still lay awake. Crawling out from her sleeping bag and grabbing her cellphone, she exited the bedroom. Even though she had no way to contact her mother any longer, there was enough portable battery chargers to have several months of usage before it died until an unknown amount._

_Settling in the living room, she turned the screen on, coming with a picture of Amity, Gus, and Willow during one of their few rare outings._

_“Human,” said Lilith as she approached her. “While I don’t know much about raising an exotic but shouldn’t you be sleeping? After being under Eda’s care for almost a month and half, I thought she would have set up a routine and trained you to follow it.”_

_‘Leave me alone, Lilith,” she hissed, eyes cold and unforgiving. Moving her gaze back to her phone, she softened when looking at the texts with her Mami. “I don’t want to talk to you after what you did to Eda.”_

_“I wanted…I wanted to apologize.” Lilith shuffled to rest on the other side of the room. “For the stress I have caused Edalyn, and for putting you into danger.”_

_“F-Fuck you,” cursed Luz, seeing the shocked expression of her mentor’s sister. “Because of you, I won’t be able to go home. I’m not able to show my Mami how well I am doing. Or introduce her to Amity, Willow, Gus, King, or Eda. Because of you, Eda was cursed, and lost her magic!”_

_Hearing this, Lilith flinched. “I know I have done much to upset you,” she explained softly, keeping her voice low. “But I hope one day there will be a time where you forgive me, human.”_

_“Never.”_

_Blanching, Lilith blinked. “Pardon?”_

_“I will never forgive you, Lilith Clawthorne,” Luz spat, voice icy. “For as long Eda is unable to do her form of magic and have to worry about the curse, I will never forgive you. For all the pain you have caused my family and myself, the Titans themselves would have to plead ad grovel for me to forgive you.”_

***Flash***

_Holding the scrap of paper in her hands and eyes scrunching up to reading the familiar lettering on the street sign, Luz looked between the diverging pathways. When she received a note from Amity, she hadn’t expected it to be this deep into the forest or leaving the paths that had the street names in Humaneese underneath it. “Atty,” she called after a moment, standing on the tip of her toes in an attempt to get a better view. “Atty, where are you?”_

_“I’m right here, Luz.” Amity, now in her late teens, stood to the right of her. Her cloak, once black was replaced with a light lavender, was button up tightly as the last warm days of fall had long past. Soon, with the looming gray clouds, there would be frigid temperatures and snow. “Sorry, I forgot that you still struggle with our tongue.”_

_Veering off the path and linking arms with her, the two Hexdian students settled onto the walk towards the Screeching Lake._

_“What did you want for me to come all the way out here, Atty?” the eleven-year-old asked, glancing at her older friend. “In know that you wanted to walk on the trails but there are some by The Owl House, which are closer to Eda, King, and Hooty than somewhere like this.”_

_“I wanted to talk to you,” Amity began, pausing until they came to a bench. Setting down and allowing room for Luz, she continued. “I know it’s only been five months since I met you, Luz, but there is something that I have to get off my chest. I like you, Luz. I like you a lot.”_

_Seated next to her friend and bundled up heavily with warm clothes, the elven-year-old smiled brightly. “I like you too, Atty,” she chirped, blinking her hazel-brown eyes._

_Amity’s face frightened, golden eyes widening. “Really?” she said in a whisper. “You mean it, Mea?”_

_“Of course,” the preteen went on. “You are my closest friend, Atty. Why would I like you?”_

_Hearing this, the thirteen-year-old flinched, golden eyes squeezing shut. “I didn’t mean it like that, Mea,” she explained. “I don’t see you as a friend. I love you, Luz. I have loved you ever since that night back in the library. I love you and can’t keep it hidden any longer.”_

_Eyes widening and shock taking hold, she remained silent. The only thought that came to her mind was something her Mami said._

_“Remember those kind of people, Mija,” she had said one day. “Those people, dating the same gender, are being sinful and will live in the fiery pits of hell when the resurrection comes. Don’t ever associate yourself with them, or God forbid, be one. I will not let you fall to their sinful behavior.”_

_“I have to go!” Luz sprang to her feet, turning away. “I’m sorry, Atty, but I have to go.”_

_Startled, it took a moment for Amity to react. It was a few moments to late. Luz had already left the clearing, leaving her behind._

***Flash***

_Back at The Owl House, Eda had just settled down to do some reading from the one rare parenting books she owned when the front door burst open. Expecting an intruder, she grabbed the few glyphs hidden in the drawer but paused when she saw it was her apprentice, eyes red and puffy._

_“Christian, kid," she said, dropping the glyphs back into the drawer, shutting it. “Where is the herd of wollypigs at that caused you to make so much noise?”_

_“Eda...” came the sniffling reply of her apprentice. “A-a-am I a sinful person? Or going to hell when I die?”_

_Eda, now filled with worry, approached her, now fully noticing how distraught the eleven-year-old appeared. Her eyes, while puffy and red, held a deep confusion and conflict that it was paralyzing. Her hair, once in a ponytail, now had come upon and hung around her neck, the hair tie caught in a few stubborn strand._

_“Now, Luz I know that you may have very odd thoughts at time but know this isn’t like you,” she began gently. “Where did think that you are going to go to a bad place or living in immorality? You are only eleven and shouldn’t be thinking like that.”_

_“Amity likes me and I like her,” she explained. “But Mami said that Jesus would send the sinners to hell, and liking the same gender is sinful.”_

_‘Titian, give me strength,’ she thought as she led Luz back to the couch. Settling down, the twenty-two year old gave no complaint as her apprentice clambered onto her lap. It had become a common occurrence for her apprentice, someone who should be too old for this treatment, to seek it from her or King randomly. “I don’t know what it is like where you from but in the Demon Realm, it doesn’t matter who you love,” she explained softly, petting her hair. “As long as they treat your right and don’t try to pressure you to do anything, you will hear no protests from King, Hooty, and I.”_

_“So if I like a girl, it’s not wrong,” Luz surmised. “If I return the feelings to Amity, it won’t be wrong.”_

_“No,” Eda said, allowing her to get up._

_“I have to go,” Luz said after a moment. “I will be right back, Eda.”_

_“Don’t stay out past curfew,” she said, watching her apprentice leave._

***Flash***

_Luz shifted nervously, she shuffled back into the kitchen as Lilith, Eda, and King made their way to the living room. Ever since last night, she had thought long and hard before making the decision. Eda, while not replacing her mother, had become her maternal figure not long after facing against the Emperor’s Coven and Emperor Belos. It was time for her to ask the question that had been plaguing her mind._

_“Okay, kid, spill. I have been raising you long enough to know when something is bothering you,” Eda said as she came back into the kitchen. Settling down at an open chair, she gazed at the shifting eleven-year-old. “Is something bothering you, Luz? Did Lilith say something?”_

_“It has been a full year and a few days since I came to stay with you,” she began, settling down in a chair in front of her. “And, even though I only know you for a year, I-I-I have seen you as my familia.”_

_“We forgot your birthday,” Eda said, guilt washing over her. “I’m sorry kiddo. With everything that has been going on, I completely forgot your birthday was a few weeks before the shit hitting the fan.”_

_“…Can I call you Mama?” she blurted out suddenly, shocking Eda as she froze. Opening one eye, she glanced at her twenty-three-year-old mentor. “Even though, I only have known you for one year, you already have become like my Mami. You make sure that I am getting my school work done, eating when I need to, tucking me in every night, and still dealing with my hyperactivity even though you are starting to grow sick of it.”_

_“What about your mother, Camilia?” Eda pressed gently with a grown, moving closer and allowing Luz to clamber onto her lap, holding her tightly in a hug. “Much as I would love to hear you calling me, “Mama” wouldn’t it be weird, when you return to the Human realm, for your mother to hear you refer someone else as a name that is commonly associated with someone who gave birth and raised you, kiddo?”_

_The twelve-year-old gave a shake of her head. “Mami would understand,” she said with a look of doubt. “You are raising me while I attend school and be the person she wants to me to be, Eda.”_

_With a deep sigh, Eda nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. “Of course, my little Owlet,” she whispered, kissing her on the forehead. “You can call me, Mama.”_

_“I love you, Mama,” Luz proclaimed._

_“I love you too, Owlet,” Eda crooned in a sing song voice._

***Flash***

_Standing in front of the wood, roaring stove and stirring the pot, Luz almost jumped out of her skin as a hand landed on her shoulder. Whipping around and preparing to smack the person with her wooden spoon, she expected to find King or one of his other recent demon companions instead found Lilith. She was dressed in her normal outfit of black skirt and pale cream blouse. Her once indigo hair had lessen to a gray color with her orange roots beginning to come it. It was held up by a ponytail and a butterfly clip that she had given her as a present. “Oh, Lilith,” she said, smiling as she sat the wooden spoon back into the spot. “I thought it was King or someone else trying to taste the stew before it was done.”_

_“I am sorry, my Darling,” Lilith said, removing her hand and pulling up a chair. Settling in and gesturing to the extra next to her, Luz took a seat. “Edalyn told me that you wished to speak to me. With King and the ruffians he claimed to be his “herd” gone to the market for a few moments, I thought right now would be the best time.”_

_“That would explain why it is so quiet,” she realized after a moment. “But anyway, Mama was right. I do want to speak to you about something important, Lilith.”_

_“Is there something wrong, Darling?” Lilith’s blue and grey eye narrowed with worry, gaze scanning for any signs of harm. “Did something happen between Amity and you? Do I need to have a talk with her?”_

_Blanching, Luz shook her head. “D-d-do you remember the fight we had when you first came to stay with us? About how I would never forgive you and see you as family?”_

_Lilith frowned. “Yes. Why would you want to bring that up after almost full three years, Darling? Did I do something to bring that back up? If I did, I am truly sorry.”_

_“I just realized how wrong I was,” explained the teenager. “And I want to ask if I can call you Tia, or Auntie?”_

_“Of course, Darling.” Lilith smiled fondly, giving her a pat on her knee as the distant roar of thundering feet approached the kitchen. “Finish cooking while I deal with the ruffians.”_

_“Have fun, Tia,” Luz said to her fading figure._

***Flash***

_Luz didn’t know how to explain it but there was something off about the doctor her Mami was taking her to. It was hard for her to put her finger on but by the probing questions and dismissal of her stories that dealt with her Mama, Tia, Atty, and friends made her worry. With her worrying and the doctor seeming to scribbling an endless supply of notes, she knew that soon everything she was noticing would add up to something._

_What she wasn’t expecting was the doctor to be replaced with a woman, not that much older than her, possibly mid-twenties, who seem to know how to put her at ease. The way she talked, like she believed her, helped her calm down, to lower her guard. It was with lowering her guard that began her downward spiral._

_“Luz,” her new doctor had begun the day something shifted. “Do you know what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is? Or what psychosis is, sweetie?”_

_Seated at a table, lost in the world of drawing, Luz shook her head. “No, Ms. Abagail,” she said, too attentive to the drawing of Owlbert, King, Lilith, Eda, and Hooty to notice the doctor’s frown upon seeing the drawing. “Why does it matter?”_

_“Well PTSD, can be brought on by someone who has gone through something traumatic,” the doctor explained. “Or Psychosis could cause a person, who might be not well mentally, think they experienced something that didn’t really happen. With this in mind, there might be a possibility that these people aren’t real and just your imagination.”_

_Hearing this and getting her attention, Luz dropped her pencil, hazel-brown eyes widening. “Mama, Tia, and everyone else isn’t made up,” she said adamantly. “They took care of me for the four years that I was away.”_

_“Okay, sweetie,” hummed Ms. Abagail, jolting down a few more notes before ending the session._

***Flash***

_A few days later, after returning from school, Luz felt like she was trapped and facing Emperor Belos again._

_Her Mami and two police officers stood between her and her only escape route, the door to the entrance way and the door to the backward. Her Mami looked close to tears and the police officers wore a solemn, emotionless expression. One wrong move, she realized. She would be pounced on._

_“Mami,” she began, setting down her school bag slowly onto the kitchen table. “What is going on? Did something happen?”_

_“Just go upstairs and pack a bag, Mija,” her mother said, blinking tears out of her face. “You are going to take a trip with these nice man and woman. I will be following behind them. There is nothing to be worried about.”_

_Breath caught in her throat and hazel-brown eyes scanning for a way out, she saw none. As if sensing her inner struggle, the police officer, the woman, took a step forward as Luz leaped to her feet, making a dash to the backyard. If she could get to Eda’s cabin would she be able to find a way back to the Demon Realm? Would she be able to make it in time? The last three months of living in the Human Realm had led her to gaining some weight and slowing down in speed._

_“You aren’t going anywhere,” the male police officer said, pinning her to the floor as the female prepared a syringe of some clear liquid. “Now sweetheart, this medicine is going to make you sleepy. But I promise when you wake up, your Mother will be with you.”_

_“No! No!” Struggling and kicking, Luz screamed, fingers scratching at the arms of the police officers. “Mami, make them stop! Mami, please, I’m sorry!”_

_“You will be better soon, Mija,” her mother whispered, grabbing her purse and exiting from the kitchen._

_“Mami! Mami!” Her movements began to become sluggish and slow, limbs becoming heavy. “Mama! Tia! Help me! Atty! Amity!”_

____

“Time to wake up, sweetie,” a voice said to her as the fourteen-year-old stirred. “I let you sleep for long as I can. You will be having your doctor to come see you in a few minutes, Ms. Noceda.

Looking straight up, she was met with the familiar white ceiling. Senses spinning and head throbbing, the teenager was petrified on what they had done to her while she unable to defend herself. “W-w-where am I?” she stammered as she was propped up, too weak to give any resistance. “Where is Mama and Tia at? Where is Amity? What did you do to them?

“Oh, dear,” hummed the woman dressed in white. “I thought we had did everything was needed to make you forget your delusions, sweetie. I will have to up your dosage of medicine.” Leaving her alone and approaching the desk a few feet from where she lay strapped to the bed, the woman began to flip through a case file. “I will have to mark down a higher dosage next time. But don’t worry dear, you will forget about those delusions and go back to being perfectly normal and healthy.”

“They aren’t delusions,” she protested. “Where is Mama and Tia at? I want them, and I want them now!”

From the entrance of the room, a man dressed as a security guard entered, glancing at Luz before turning to the nurse. “What is all the commotion about?” he demanded, hand reaching towards his Taser. “I can hear you out in the hallway. Do I need to get backpack to deal with the patient?”

The woman dressed in white gave a shake of her head. “Nothing to worry about Hugo,” she replied, giving a tight smile. “Our newest patient just woke up and is a bit crabby. Nothing that a visit from the doctor and a bit adjustment in her medicine won’t fix.”

“Oka-“ The security guard began but fell silent, gray eyes staring at something behind Luz.

Craning her neck aground and stretching, Luz caught the familiar sight of a light brown patterned owl. Her Mama’s palsamon stood on the top of the window still, perched like a guard.

“OWLBERT!” A broad smile comes across Luz’s face as Owlbert makes his way over to her. With his hopping and a deep angry look on him, Luz would have croon about how cute he was if she wasn’t so scared or wanting her Tia and Mama.

“You have a pet owl?” The nurse said in shock, glancing at the security guard who understood her unsaid message. “Now, I know you may want your Owl but you have to give him to us sweetie,” she said, beginning to approach her. “Owls are unsanitary and can’t be in a place of medicine. But give him to me, I will make sure to return him to your Mami to take home.”

Before she was able to take more than a few more steps forward, the shattering of glass made her freeze. Covering her eyes and mouth, a spray of glass flew over the security guard and the nurse.

Quicker than a milosecond, Owlbert extended his wings, creating a yellow barrier between the falling glass and Luz. Around her, a thick fog filled the room. The two other occupants coughed, unable to see the three figures that appeared over her. But from her viewpoint and knowing Eda wouldn’t be that far behind Owlbert, she quickly reconized the three figures.

Lilith and Eda stepped past her while Amity stopped beside her. While the two adults shied away from the two women, pissed beyond thought and ready to kill, stood before them. Gripping onto their staffs, they glared down at the two employee’s. 

“So, now who is going to tell me who put my darling in a place like this?” Lilith spoke first, venom seeping into every prim, sharp word. “Luz has done nothing to mine and my sister’s knowledge to be treated like she is prisoner. So, you better start speaking our defense before everyone in this room not related to me will be six feet under.”

“Or better yet, I say every employee in this place,” Eda growled. “For as far as I see they are all guilty of putting innocent children into this hellhole for being different or not conforming to the norm of the Human Realm’s society standards.”

In the fog, in an attempt to warn the others, the white coated nurse began to make her way to the closed door but found her on the ground, unable to move.

Lilith scowling, approached her. Handing her little sister her staff, she lifted the woman up by her hair. “You, from what I can tell, have falsely imprisoned my niece but also tried to make her forget about us. You are the worst offender and deserve the worse punishment than capital punishment. But you see, with Luz and my apprentice watching, I cannot do that. I do not wish to bring any more trauma or harm onto either of them.”

“Be grateful it was my sister who approached you first,” Eda snarled as she threw the security guard down beside the nurse. “If it was me, and not having Luz in my life, both of you would be head. Once you were dead, your clothes, and anything of interest be used to sell at my stand on the weekends, but there was before I became a mother. Now, with Luz in my care, she has become my world. And her still adjusting to the new rules in the Demon Realm, I can’t let her assume that murder will be allowed in the Demon Realm. So what I am going to do is going to be a lot more scarier and twisted but leaves no physical indicators.”

“A paralyzing potion,” Lilith hummed with deep interest. “Enough to make them to carefully choke on the fog but not to leave any indicators of foul play. It won’t be us filling them but their natural causes of the human’s organic body.”

To the side of her, Amity, after some fighting with Owlbert to drop the shield, began to tug at the straps, struggling faintly to undue the ties. Finally, with some help from Lilith, the human teenager was freed. Able to sit up and realizing how she was dressed, Luz gratefully took the cloak from her Tia Lilith.

Eda, after delivering the paralysis potion, went over to her daughter. Making sure the blanket and cloak where wrapped around her tightly, she picked up Luz, holding her close, tightly. “How are you feeling, kid?” she said softly as she approached the window. With her being handed to Amity and Lilith, she clambered out before taking her again.

“I wanna go home,” Luz sniffled, pressing close to Amity who now took her, allowing her to stand beside her, supporting her shaking legs. “I want to go back to the Demon Realm, Mama.”

Eda, pulling the portal key from underneath her dress, gave a nod. “Let’s go home,” she agreed, allowing Amity and her daughter to go first. Seeing there was no one else coming for them, Lilith and Eda entered the portal, closing it behind them and returning back to the Demon Realm.


	4. Chapter Four

Arriving back at the house was a quiet affair. Placing Luz onto the ground and stepping back, Lilith and Eda led the two girls over to the table, giving them the only two chairs. While Lilith prepared a simple, quick, meal of screaming berries and crying Hawks for Luz, Amity sat with Luz, holding her close as her walls broke, tears falling down her face and eyes burning.

Behind them, only half aware, Eda was breaking down a few old books of her's. With the sudden arrival and retrieval of Luz, there was no time to chop any wood or purchase any from the market. For now, old books and trinkets from the Human Realm would have to do for kindling. Once the fire was lit and the last few logs placed in side, the protective fencing was put up. Only then, feeling anger bubbling to the surface, did Eda approached her daughter. Settling down with her, now in the living room, the twenty-seven-year-old gave no protest when she launched onto her and buried her face into her shirt much like she did when she first came under her care.

"Luz," the eldest Clawthorne began, setting the plate of food on the coffee table. Crouching down in front of her and wiping the tears off of her flushed face, Lilith sighed, teal eyes darkening. "I know it hurts, daring. But can you tell us what happened? It may help Eda, Dearest, and I figure out how to help you."

At first, Luz shook her head, refusing to meet her aunt's gaze. She didn't want to face the same look of disappointment and sorrow like she did with her Mami. Would Mama and Tia believe her when she told them what she experienced? Or would they be like her Mami who tried to lock her up and make her forget about the other part of her life?

"Luz...” Eda began, voice soft but stern as she held her adopted daughter in place. "I know that you are upset but kid, the more we know, the better we can help you."

Sighing and realizing she had no choice, Luz began to tell what happened upon her arrival home. Her arrival, happening almost three months before, had happened just before the spring break at her old school. Within hours of her returning, she was taken to the hospital and exiled by emergency room staff. When deemed a clean bill of health, her Mami took three weeks off of work to help her readjust. Everything was going alright until two and half months ago when she was brought to a doctor who gave her a weird feeling. Then, slowly her Mami, beginning to pull away and distant herself from her until one day, she came home to find two police officers, their realm's equivalent of Emperor’s Guard, to take her to an asylum. It was there, in her heart break, that she been drugged and attempted to forget everything over the last four years.

Lost in her tale and the heavy weight of her emotions, she didn't notice the looks of guilt between Lilith and Eda, or the look of worry from Amity. All three of them had thought, after four years of living in the Demon Realm, she wouldn't do well in the Human Realm or with others of her species. Rather, she was a human born to be witch instead of a human born to be an ordinary, powerless human.

Finishing her retelling and exhaustion beginning to take hold, Luz collapsed back into the couch between Eda and Amity as Lilith settled on the coffee table, setting her now cold plate of food to the side. With Luz half asleep and her emotional state in tethers, the two Clawthorne sister's and Luz's North Star didn't know what to do except to share a look with each other.

"What are we going to do?" Amity asked, breaking the silence as Luz, curled up, slept like a rock against her. "W-w-we can't allow Luz to go back there. There is no telling what her mother will do if she returns back to the Human Realm."

"She was never meant to exist with her own kind," Lilith whispered mournfully, gently brushing her niece’s hair out of her face, covering her with a blanket. "Luz, from the moment she took her first breath, was meant to live with us in the Demon Realm. It wasn't until four years ago that she found her proper home."

"She has us," Eda said, cradling her daughter's upper half. "While she may not be my biological daughter, she is mine. I will not let anything hurt her or allow her to face off against that woman again."

Nodding in agreement and only stirring when Amity's scroll began to ring, the small family began to move. Seeing her older brother and sister warning of the war path her parents' were on, Luz and Amity were left for some privacy. Staying in the entrance to The Owl House and sharping a longing embrace and kiss, they parted.

Once Amity left and her caregiver noticed the time, the night routine began. After a quick shower and changing into a spare thing of clothes from her aunt, Luz found herself sleeping in Eda's nest, settled between Lilith and Eda, blankets laying on top of her.

It wasn't long, after the last candle was blown out, and King curled up at the base of her feet that she spoke willingly for the first time. "Why didn't my Mami want me for the real me?"

It was Lilith, only partly asleep, that reacted first. Sitting up and gently rubbing the girl's back, the eldest Clawthorne hummed softly, not expecting her niece to speak so willingly and so soon. "Your mother, Camila, does want you, darling," she said, running her hands through here long, silky hair. “Camilia doesn't want you to change. She doesn't know about us, or where you disappeared for the past four years. She was just worried if there was something wrong."

"But that woman doesn't deserve to have a child like you," Eda commented angrily, sitting up with a scowl on her face. "No one in that realm deserves to have someone special as you."

"Edalyn!" Lilith casted a warning glare at her younger sister. "This is not the time or place to speak ill of Luz's mother," she said, turning to the quiet child. "Your mother did what she thought was the best for you, Darling. From what I remember her telling me, she just wanted you to be happier, and make friends."

"Then why did she send me away without a second thought," she demanded, voice shrill and heart broken. "Why did she send me to a place that would take away all my memories and experiences with you guys, and my friends?'

Eda, taking a moment to hold back retort, sighed. "Your mother or your realm wasn't ready for someone like you," the twenty-seven year old explained simply. "You were never meant to be born in the Human Realm. From the moment you were born, you, and possibly others, were meant to be here. Even though you are human and have no access to magic in the traditional way, Titan has blessed you with glyph sight, making it very clear where you belonged, Kid."

"Your mother and most others in the Human Realm didn't understand you," Lilith translated once seeing the confusion on the child's face. "T-they may never understand you, Luz. You are a rarity that is very hard to come by anymore. A special rarity that should be taken care of and hoisted up instead of pushed down."

"Rarity? Special?" echoed Luz. "Does that mean I'm crazy? Or broken in the head? Does that mean I should have be-"

"No!" Both older witches snap at the same time. Eda, shifting and pulling Luz close into a sight hug shifted, allowing Lilt to move close. Placing Luz in the middle of their connecting legs, the two witches refuse to let her fall into the negative headspace.

"Never, never say that," Eda said sternly, her gold and gray eye meeting Luz's hazel brown. "You are a mazing and perfect. My perfect little rarity that deserves a chance to thrive instead of failing."

"You deserve a better start than what you got," Lilith said. "B-b-but now you here with us. Here in the Demon Realm, you are going to continuing maturing and growing. With us guiding you and attending Hexode, you are going to do great things and bring change that is unexpected. And if that is what is considered "crazy" than I will say I love you being crazy. You are just being crazy by being your true self, Darling."

"You will never be alone and will do great things," Eda finished. "Okay, Kid?"

Looking between them and holding a still slumbering King close, Luz's gaze fell to the blankets on her lap. Feeling the embrace of her aunt and Mama, she found herself having no strength until Eda, a bit too rough, shook her shoulder. Flinching at the rolling motion, her gaze moved back up, and she is met with the reassuring and loving gazes of her adopted family.

"Do you understand?" Lilith pressed gently only to be met by stone cold silence.

“Humans, while being advanced in many other forms, aren’t open to things that can’t be explained by science,” Lilith began. “So unseen magic and demons is just seen as crazy or made up. So, you coming home, after four years of missing, and talking of people, who never attended our one supposed arrival place, it must have worried her mother.”

“But, when time comes, when you are of age in the Human realm,” Eda offered, seeing Luz perking up faintly. “In uhh, four years if I remember correctly, you want to go back and see your Mami, Lilith, Amity, I, Willow, Gus, and the Minty Fresh twins will be right beside you, dearie. If she still refuses to believe you, you don’t have to stay there. You will always have a home here, in The Owl house.”

“Anything that happens is not your fault,” Lilith assured quickly. “Whatever happens between Camilia, Eda, and I are adult problems. At fourteen, all you have to worry about is school, friends, and your relationship with Amity.”

“Okay,” the fourteen-year-old hummed sleepily. “Can we lay down again?”

“Of course.” Shifting back into their sleeping positions again, Luz curled up on her side, holding King close as the blanket was tucked in tighter around her.

A few moments later, Luz said, “Mama? Tia Lilith?”

“Yes, Luz,” Lilith asked from where she lay on the left side of her. “Is something else troubling you, darling?”

“Who do I need to beat up?” Eda asked, no longer holding back her anger. “I won’t hurt your Mother but anyone not related to you is fair game, kid.”

“It’s not that,” she whispered, heading resting on her pillow. “I just want to say thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” both of them yawned.

“I love you, Mama,” Luz yawned, jaws parting sleepily. “I love you, Tia.”

“We love you too,” Lilith and Eda yawned, sleep beginning to fall onto their shoulders. “Now, it is time for bed. All three of us will have a busy day tomorrow.”

Yawning and curling up into her pillow, the fourteen-year-old gave a hum in agreement. She already knew with enrolling her again and buying her clothes for this realm would take most of the morning and possible afternoon. “Good night,” she mumbled as she slipped off to sleep, head pressing into Eda’s shoulder and feet pressing into Lilith’s legs.

“Welcome home, darling,” Lilith said before closing her eyes, leaving Eda awake on her own.

“Welcome home, kid,” Eda said, without moving. “You are finally where you are meant to be. The Titan would have never brought you to me all those years ago if you weren’t meant to be living with witches and a world filled with magic. Welcome home, my daughter...”


End file.
